Critic Reviews

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90

Mean Machines

This wasn't quite what I was expecting from a Krusty game, but I'm glad Acclaim have taken an original approach rather than go for a bog-standard platforms and ladders type game like many big-name games of recent months. The puzzle action is totally absorbing and the gameplay is beautifully balanced to draw you in slowly and get you prepared for the cleverly designed, but horribly complicated puzzles that lie on later levels. The graphics and sound are both excellent, but they're really secondary to the gameplay. Puzzle games aren't usually very popular, but I urge you to give this a go. It'll have you scratching your head and yelling in frustration, then running around the room screaming with delight when you work out how to solve a puzzle. It'll also keep you entertained for weeks - which is more than your average "big name" platform game will do! Check it out!

Krusty's Super Funhouse is a perfect example of a licensed game strong enough to warrant success on its own merits. The Simpsons license is applied so superficially here, I can't help but wonder why they used it at all. It could have easily have been Bozo's Super Fun House, or even Mario's Super Fun House on another system (some might argue that this latter game in fact exists in the form of the Mario vs. DK series). An overall lack of variation in in level aesthetics and rat trap designs hint at a little more time needed in the production schedule, and asking players to grind through nearly fifteen puzzles before providing them with a password is a bit much. Still, the delectable balance of action and puzzle elements make for an addictive and wholly charming game that benefits only slightly from a Simpsons motif.

The Simpson's license is completely wasted here, as other characters appear only as static images - sometimes as posters on the wall! C'mon man!! I don't know who thought Krusty's Fun House was a good idea, but they need to have their heads examined.